Yours Truly, Levi

Memory

Once the boat is in the harbor, quite a crowd of spectators has gathered. Most people assumed your crews were dead, so to see them pull in together was a big deal, even if your Clan was just a quarter of the size it started as. Suddenly, a wave of sadness washed over you. Seventy-six percent of your Clan would never return. Seventy-six families would cry tonight in mourning. You suddenly remember a scene that happened on the boat, between you and a young man, maybe a teenager... what was his name again? You wrack your brain to remember.

"Hey man, watch out!" A voice from behind startles you, and you feel someone grab the back of your shirt as you lurch forward sickeningly, catching you in time for you to not fall on your face. You regain your balance and sigh, turning hesitantly to face your rescuer.

He stands about your height, give or take an inch. He has mousy blonde hair falling into bright blue eyes, a round, pudgy nose, and a thin frame poking out under layers of baggy clothes. "Are you okay?" the boy asks.

"Yeah," you say, one hand holding your forehead. "Just... lost my balance."

He smiles, revealing a row of semi-crooked teeth. "That's all right. I'll just have to watch you closely, so you don't fall again. You've never been on a real boat, have you?"

You shake your head. "Have you?"

He smiles again, widely. "Nope!"

"Makes sense," you say drily. The only ones with boats are the rich people who live by the rivers. Mostly the people in the Kingdom, within the safety of Wall Sina.

"My name's Armin," he says. "I was in the last group of Cadets in the Military, but I never got high enough in rank to be a Clan leader once the Titans were wiped out."

Your mouth drops. "You were in... the Titan war?" you ask incredulously.

"Yup," Armin says, but his smile has diminished slightly.

"Did you ever know about the boy who supposedly turned into a Titan?" You can't keep the awe from your voice, try as you might. Your father had often come home yammering on about the human-Titan shapeshifter in the Survey Corps Elite, but then again, he was often drunk.

"Uh..." Armin rubs the back of his neck, glancing at his feet. "Actually... Eren and I... grew up together," he said.

Your eyes widen, then narrow. "You're lying," you say accusingly.

Armin holds up his hands defensively. "I'm not lying!" he says. "Honest! He was my best friend. Eren... Mikasa... they were my last family."

"What... happened to your family?" you ask, softening a bit. He didn't seem to be a liar in nature. Weak, but determined.

"My parents died when I was little, shot hit the First Interior Squad when they tried to escape the walls. My grandfather raised me, but when Shiganshina was attacked by the Armored and Colossal Titans and fled to the inner walls, he was sent out in the group of scouts and... he never came back. So Eren, Mikasa and I joined the military."

You felt your heart clench in pity. "Wow... that's tough."

"What about you?" he asks.

You pause, then explain. "My mom was killed by a Titan, and later my dad became alcoholic. He worked for the military, too. He was in the Garrison Regiment, and he and his buddies would come home drunk every night. But most of them were killed by what my father says is a... well... a female Titan. But I think they just booked it until the end of the Titan War. I mean, Titans don't have organs, so how can they be 'male' or 'female' anyway?"

Armin pales and swallows hard. "Her Titan form... uh... didn't actually have female parts. She was just really effeminate, with a girlish figure and longish hair." He shudders. "Annie..."

"Annie? You mean- he wasn't kidding? There really is a female Titan?"

He nods. "Annie... was our friend. She was a part of the same group of trainees as I was, though with a few more years of experience. She kind of went nuts and killed a lot of soldiers before we froze her."

Your eyes narrow in skepticism. What a load of lies, you think.

Now the memory returns to you, and you feel your heart smashing in your chest. "Armin," you murmur. That's why Mikasa's name rang a bell, you think. She's proof that he wasn't lying. The thought sends chills down your spine and fills you with sadness. Armin had been one of the Clanmates lost in the storm, meaning now, as she and Sasha went through the files of members from both Clans, Mikasa was finding out now that he was dead. That's so sad...

But the thought soon evaporated as Levi's presence returned to your side, and the ship docked, ready for unloading. "Are you ready?" Levi asks.

You nod bravely, taking his hand. The same feeling you'd had when signing up to take your father's place in the Clans now fills your gut, replacing the sadness and bringing along a determination to make Armin's and the other men's sacrifices worth it.

Now is the moment you'll find out if you'll be with Levi forever, or if you'll wind up dying for your lie. This is the moment where you'll start your future- the rest of your life.

"It's time."